Turn around and look at me
by Selective Mutism
Summary: Kami's broken marriage and Maka's sad childhood. Mostly from Kami's and Maka's point of view. Purely from my imagination. Rated 'T' for Spirit-abuse and other miscellaneous things. My first fanfic. Sadly, I don't own Soul Eater. Please help by reviewing.
1. Chapter 1

_12 years before present time..._

_  
_

"Waaaaaaaaaah~"

The crying sound of a small baby girl screamed throughout the single ward hospital room, as a red-haired man in his late teens rocked the baby from side to side, making ridiculous sounds in attempt to calm the baby, as his beige-haired partner on the hospital bed, who was also in her late teens, stared at him...

"Goochy goochy goo~!"

"Erm…"

"A Goochy Goochy GOO~!"

"Excuse me…"

"Who's da cutesie wutsie littla girlie?"

"Can you please stop that? It's stupid."

The baby didn't stop crying, causing more and more people were starting to gather around small ward, trying to apprehend the cause of the wailing.

"Why isn't she stopping? She just keeps crying non-stop…" cried the male teen in despair.

"New born babies are like that; they tend to cry whenever they are sad or feel discomfort," the female patient commented nonchalantly.

The male teen turned towards his partner on the hospital bed with a quizzical look on his face, before returning his attention towards the baby.

"There is NO WAY our baby can be scared of her own father, right?"

As though to answer his question, the baby started to cry even louder.

The beige-haired teen on the hospital bed sighed. As her partner continued in his futile attempts to soothe the wailing little girl, she moved forward to take the baby in her arms and cradle her, while humming a soft lullaby.

The baby girl stopped crying and for the first time, opened her still-developing eyes and looked up to face her mother. A pair of tear-wet emerald eyes met another pair of gentle caring emerald eyes, which miraculously made the baby smile.

"Oh my... My baby is just SO CUTE~!" screamed the red-haired father excitedly like a little schoolgirl, "She looks just like you, Kami!"

The woman called Kami smiled softly at her partner, "She sure does, Spirit."

---

The baby girl was now giggling in the arms of her mother, while she reached for the beige locks of her mother's hair with her tiny fragile hands. The man called Spirit nearly died from happiness looking at his little girl in his wife's arms.

"Have you thought of a name to give our child yet?" The red-haired asked his wife.

Kami stared at him momentarily upon that question, before turning her head towards the floor at the side of her single bed. Surprised, Spirit followed her eyes, which were currently focused on a pile of neatly-stacked books at the side of the room. He had not noticed them as he was previously too preoccupied with their wailing child.

"Having consulted the 381 _practically useless_ baby books, which you had bought on impulse EVERYTIME you walk past a bookstore for the past few months, I must say I am disappointed that I cannot find a single name that tickles my fancy..."

"You read EVERYONE of them?" Spirit stared at his partner in amazement.

"It's a waste if I don't read them," commented Kami dryly. "Besides, most of them don't serve much purpose since most of its content is just pictures of HALF-NAKED women."

"But it teaches you how to breastfeed. And it's only a small section of the book." The male defended.

"I don't need 381 'PICTORIAL' books, which the 'breastfeeding' section takes up to two-thirds of the entire book EACH, to tell me _how_ to breastfeed..."

Spirit tried to retort back, but was hit squarely in the face with one of the exceptionally thick books in the 'collection', before collapsing on top of the remaining 380 books.

"Be grateful that the really thick ones were at the bottom of the stack and out of my reach..." the culprit commented.

Spirit looked up towards his wife, expecting an evil grin spread across her face, but was instead surprised to see a warm smile on her face as she looked lovingly towards their daughter.

"But... there is this ONE name that I think suits our baby, no thanks to the books you bought..."

As Spirit climbed back up on his feet, Kami repositioned the baby in her arms, who was now playing with her hair, to reach for a small piece of paper on the bedside table with her now freed hand. Looking at the word scribbled on paper one more time, she smiled once more before passing the paper to her partner.

He took one look at the paper, and smiled.

"_Maka Albarn_. It's perfect..."

---

Just as the small baby girl was falling asleep in her mother's arms, Spirit suddenly recalled something.

"Oh yeah. Shinigami-sama wanted to talk to you, Kami."

The red-haired produced a small mirror from the inside pocket of his black suit jacket and passed it towards his partner direction. The woman repositioned the sleeping baby in her arms to get a more comfortable position, before reaching for the mirror with her free hand. Placing the mirror on her lap, she began to write the seven familiar numbers on the mirror surface with the tip of her finger, which started to glow bright as a ripple-like effect covered the entire mirror surface. A second later, the previously mirrored image of Kami was replaced with an image of a quirky blue ceiling room, adorned with pictures of cartooned clouds.

"_Riiiiisu!_" A black figure with a cartoon skull mask popped out from the bottom of the mirror to greet his caller. "Congrats, Kami-chan, on the birth of your baby girl!"

"I am honoured for Shinigami-sama to congratulate me personally." Kami bowed her head to the black figure in the mirror, since she was still carrying little Maka in her arms.

"_Nada, nada_… How can I not be happy when one of my own students has given birth?"

"Of course Shinigami-sama is happy, Kami. Look at how CUTE my Maka-chan is. How can ANYONE resist such a cu-"

"You, on the other hand," Shinigami suddenly pointed a cartoonish accusing finger towards Spirit, "should be in class! You should be setting a good example to the rest of the students, who unlike you have yet to reach the Death Scythe status."

"Huh?" The young Death Scythe produced a pouting face, which he thought was quite cute but was actually as hideous as anyone who tried to as like Japanese girls with their '_Kawaii_' catchphrase (No offense to all Japanese girls reading this fan fiction). "Can't a father visit his own daughter?"

"I'm not against you visiting your family, Spirit-kun. What I AM AGAINST is that you don't attend classes, missions AND EVEN let Stein-kun go on his dissecting rampage around campus while you slack off your duty to spend your ENTIRE TIME either with your family, or flirting with another one of my students, which I believe takes up to 85% of your time."

Kami stared at Spirit, who pretended to look away and mask his guilt with a very very VERY _fake_ 'innocent' face.

"You know I still love you the best, right Kami?"

_The same excuse that he had said to her EVERYTIME..._

"Those other girls are nothing..."

Shinigami cleared his throat, reminding them that they were still taking to their boss. Kami gave Spirit another intense stare, which could turn Spirit into a human equivalent of a Swiss-cheese from the many holes Kami intended to burn into his body from her glare, before returning her attention towards the Shinigami.

"I'm sorry Shinigami-sama, for not currently being unable to help you in your predicament due to my blubbering, stupid, incompetent, seemingly useless husband-"

"Hey!"

"-and I assure you that I will do my best to kept him in line in the future."

"_Na..._ Don't worry too much 'bout him. You should just worry 'bout your well-being first..."

"Yeah Kami, like what Shinigami sa-"

"Spirit-kun," Shinigami, once again, with his cartoonish finger at him, "You are coming to my office RIGHT NOW."

Before he could protest, Sid Barett barged into the single ward, grabbed hold of Spirit's collar, before dragging him towards the exit. Well, not before the tanned man stop to say 'hello' to Kami.

As Kami watched her husband get dragged out of the hospital like a piece of trash (seriously, this totally fits his description), the black figure in the mirror turned back to her, greeted her goodbye, before the mirror flashed again, once again possessing the ability of a normal mirror.

Kami was once again all alone...

All alone...

_Alone..._

Tears rolled down the beige-haired teen's face, which she quickly dried away with the sleeve of her hospital gown...

Why does she love this perverted skirt-chaser, who ogles and clings onto every woman that crosses his path? Why does she forgive him every time he flirts with another woman, which could never be performed twice in most marriages? Why does she want to give him all of her everything, despite the little things he had ever considered for her?

Why does this love hurt so much?

She looked down towards the little girl in her arms, and hugs her gently, yet at the same time firmly, before planting a light kiss on the girl's forehead.

Maka. The only thing that is holding the relationship of her marriage, her family and her dream together...

And for that reason, Kami Albarn swore to bear it all...

* * *

Author's Notes:

Wah! My head is practically screaming in pain from finally continuing on a random idea that 'popped' up in my head...

Please be gentle on the comments, though I wouldn't mind if it is constructive feedback.


	2. Chapter 2

_8 years before present time..._

Kami was in the kitchen preparing dinner when an energetic four-year-old girl, clad in a small pink dress, came rushing out of her room, holding up a story book in her hand.

"Mama, can you read a story for me?"

"I'm sorry, Maka, but we can do that after dinner..."

"Umm... Maka wants to know what happens next!"

"Maka, weren't you reading with Papa?"

"But Papa said he was going out, so he said that he had to change..."

Before the little girl could finish her sentence, Spirit appeared from his room in his usual business suit, but was wearing a light blue shirt in replacement for his normal grey shirt. His cross tie hanged loosely around his neck as he approached the front door.

Kami turned his attention towards her husband, "Where are you going?"

"Work." Spirit replied almost instantly, his back still facing her.

_Same excuse as usual. Seriously, go find a new one... _

"But it's Sunday. Isn't supposed to be family time?"

"A Death Scythe's duty is to be with the Shinigami at his command. No excuses."

_Like your reasons never were__ excuses themselves..._

Spirit stood up after fastening his shoes. Even while exiting the front door, he never turned around as he said his usual goodbye: "Bye Maka. Bye Kami. Lots of love to you two."

The door slammed shut, as the apartment grew cold with unnerving silence.

Maka was the first one to break it. "So Mama, what are you cooking?"

When her mother didn't respond, the little girl looked up at her mother with her little green eyes, only to see her mother shedding tears.

"Mama! Why are you crying?"

Realising that she was crying unknowingly, Kami quickly dried her tear with the back of her hand.

"Sorry to scare you Maka," Kami squatted down to the little girl's eye level as she placed a soft smile on her face. "The vapour from the onions was stinging my eyes-"

Suddenly without warning, Maka wrapped her little arms around her mother's neck. She stroked her mother's head gently with one hand, while whispering softly in her ear, as though she was chanting: "Don't cry, Mama. Maka is here."

Kami didn't expect that her daughter would understand. She only wanted her alone to bear the burden, so that her child can live a normal childhood, in a normal family.

Kami wrapped her own arms around the little girl and pulled her closer, as though she was pulling her away from danger. Maka was surprised for a moment –just a moment- before she returned to her chanting.

_I'm sorry, Maka... For everything..._

---

Spirit returned home the next day. At 3 am in the morning.

"Open the door... Open the *hic* _damn_ door..." The sound of an empty beer bottle pounding on the front door rang through the silent neighbourhood.

Kami had the intention to leave the drunk man outside for the night, but with his constant banging, it was bound to wake up the neighbours and Maka.

Kami reluctantly went to open the door, where she found a very drunk Spirit leaning against the doorframe for support.

"Karen, how *hic* could you leave *hic* me outside?"

_I don't know which is more annoying: His inability to remember even his wife's name, or daring to go drinking only to show up in the middle of the night with a stupid string of hiccups..._

The drunk man took a step into his own house, but in his stupor state, it's no surprise that he would land straight onto the floor face first.

_Man, he's hopeless..._

Grabbing Spirit under his armpits, Kami pulled him out of the door's way. She temporarily placed (okay, she more of dropped him, but he was already out-cold, so there is no difference) him on the floor to shut the front door, before continuing onto her errand.

_Great... He reeks of alcohol, women and vomit..._

After a long and agonising ten minutes, she managed to pull him to their bedroom and dumped him on the bed. She removed his previous clothing and changed him into his pyjamas.

Finishing her task, Kami found herself unable to sleep, thus she walked out to the kitchen to grab a cup of water. Filling it up about three-quarters, she held her cup in both hands as she approached the balcony.

The view of Death City covered in the moonlight from the crescent moon above was simply breathtaking. Looking at the surrounding buildings, she reminisced the times she leaped from rooftop to rooftop, adorning her trademark black trench coat, with a plain black scythe in her hands.

Being the elite, being called 'God's right hand'...

But now... Now, she's just an average housewife, who cooks and cleans and takes care of the kids, while her husband goes out fooling around with other women...

What happened?

Why am I suffering?

_Is this all worth it?_

Looking back into her daughter's room, where the little girl was sleeping soundly, Kami shut her eyes, reminding herself of the promise.

_If it's for Maka, everything is worth it..._

* * *

  
Author's Notes:

Okay, okay... the 'God's right hand' part was totally _brain-fart_... It is just that 'kami' in Japanese literally meant 'God'... So thus the name...

Re-reading this chapter, Spirit really sounds like a jerk... But then again, which good husband in their right mind would go mess around?


	3. Chapter 3

_6 years before present time..._

"Kami-chan. You are still young, and have a lot of potential. I hope you reconsider my offer."

The bathroom mirror flashed before replacing the previous image with her own mirrored one.

_I can't accept Shinigami's offer, I have to take care of Maka._

_I have to take care of this family._

"PAPA! GET UP!"

The six-year old Maka leaped off from the dressing table, before plunging her right elbow straight into Spirit's spine.

"Owie!"

"GET UP! GET UP! GET UP! I'M LATE FOR SCHOOL!"

"Okay, okay. I'm awake! Just stop grinding my spine"

Kami exited the bathroom to see what the commotion was all about.

"Ah, good morning, Mama. I'm just waking up Papa."

"Maka, why are you so kind to Mama but not Pa-"

Maka transformed her left arm into her scythe blade, before hitting him in the abdomen with the blunt side of her blade.

"Maka, as much as you are eager to go to school, killing your Papa will make you even later that you are now."

"Yes Mama."

Before Spirit could respond, Maka was already dragging Spirit out of the front door.

"_Itekimasu_." (Japanese for 'I'm leaving')

"_Iterasai_." (Japanese for 'Have a safe journey')

As Kami waved Maka and Spirit goodbye, the same thoughts returned to her mind.

_I really can't accept Shinigami's offer._

_I have to take care of this family._

---

"Maka Albarn! You're late."

Shibusen Kindergarden: Weapon Class.

"I'm sorry, Sensei," Maka bowed her head in shame. "I was late beca-"

"Ah! Never mind that now. Just get your father off of me!"

Spirit was on the floor, clinging onto the Kindergarden teacher's leg, mumbling something about how such a beautiful angel could possibly be a teacher, before Maka 'Maka-chopped' him with the blunt side of her scythe blade.

As Spirit laid unconscious along the classroom corridor, the Kindergarden teacher straightened her skirt before speaking to the class again.

"First of all, I'm going to release your test results for your previous test."

The Kindergarden teacher picked up the first piece of exam sheet from the stack in front of her.

"Top scorer: Maka Albarn," The kindergarden teacher announced, "holding the score of 100/100."

At the news of the test results, Spirit woke up instantly from his comatose state, screaming "Yeah! MA-KA-!" before the school security guard came in to drag the red-haired man away…

Maka stood up, walked up towards her teacher to receive her exam sheet. Looking at her paper again to reassure her full score, she smiled to herself.

_Mama… I am one step closer to your dream__!_

---

"Now where was Maka's classroom again?"

Kami walked through the corridors of Shibusen Kindergarden during the lunch period, clutching Maka's lunch box in her hand.

_It's been so long since I came here that I can vaguely remember the place._

Approaching one classroom, she poked her head in, only to find a small blue-haired boy at the back of the class, covered with many plasters in various places, doing push-ups.

"Excuse me, but do you know where the weapons class may be?"

The boy stopped his push-ups, but while retaining on all fours, he replied in a cheerful booming voice, "It's down the hallway, past the teachers' lounge on the left, before another right-turn. Straight on from there are the weapon classes."

"Thank you. You seem to know this place very well"

"God knows everything! And I am going to surpass God, so there is nothing I don't know."

Kami stared at the strange blue-haired boy as he continued on preaching about how great he was and other unnecessary nonsense.

"Thank you anyway." She thanked again before proceeding down the hallway.

As Kami past by the teachers' lounge, when she heard one of the people inside exclaim:

"You know the Death Scythe Spirit Albarn?"

She froze in her tracks. Why are they talking about Spirit?

No. She shouldn't eavesdrop on others' conversation. But why can't she move?

As much as she wanted to move away from the conversation, she stood rooted to the ground, forced to listen the oncoming conversation…

---

"Eh? Mama?"

Black Star scratched the back of his head.

'Well, she did look like you… She was holding a lunch box in her hands, looking for the weapon's class…"

"Ah!" Maka exclaimed, "My lunch box! No wonder I couldn't find it. Where did Mama go?"

"Oh." Black Star pointed in the direction the lady took. "She went down that hallway-"

Before Black Star could finish, Maka rushed in the direction of Black Star's finger.

"Umm… She could at least wait for me to finish… Oh well."

Black Star got back on fours and continued his push-ups…

* * *

Author's Notes:

The 'Maka is/was a weapon' part wasn't my initial idea to put in. But after watching SE Episode 51, those thoughts of 'Maka has weapon blood!' kept rotating in my mind so much to the point that I just HAD to put it in the story... Otherwise, my head would continue to go in circles, without any progress to the story.

Well, I will eventually get to the part of how Maka later on became a Meister, so don't worry about how odd the story now seems.


	4. Chapter 4

Maka spotted the familiar beige-haired woman in the middle of the corridor in front of the teacher's lounge as she ran towards it.

"Mama, why are you stan-"

"That Death Scythe Spirit Albarn is such a lecherous idiot."

Those words were shot straight out of the teachers' lounge, causing Maka to stop too, about 5 feet away from her mother. The gossips continued.

"You should see the way he stares at women. It's like he wants to swallow them whole."

"He throws himself on random women that he meets on the streets."

"What's so impressive about him anyway?"

"Other than his Death Scythe status, I think it is the number of women he has flirted with."

The room roared with laughter, before continuing.

"What's more laughable is that this guy is ACTUALLY married. To think anyone would marry a man like him and let him get away with it."

"No no no no… What's MORE laughable is how his wife LETS him fool around. If I were her, I would have divorced him an eternity ago."

"I wouldn't even love him."

"That's right… Now that you said it, I start to wonder… Why DOES she love him?"

"You know what they say: 'Birds of the same kind flock together'."

More laughter broke out, and Maka snapped.

"Yeah, she must be an idiot herself-"

"DON'T INSULT MAMA LIKE THAT!"

The place where the door was now stood a very angry Maka, with both arms in scythe-form. The remains of the door laid on the floor, split into four from its previous onslaught. Kami noticed that the group previously in their 'heated' discussions were not Kindergarden teachers or any of the staff here. Judging from the boys' age, they were probably those senior students from Shibusen Academy would always play truant.

"Who's she?" one of them inquired.

"Oh. I know! She's Maka Albarn, the perverted idiot's daughter..." another spoke up.

"Ooo... I'm sooooooo scared... What she going to do? Flirt us to death?"

If previously was laughter, now would be an _uproar_. Tears started to form at the bottom of Maka's eyes.

"Aww... The little girl is gonna cry. Go on, call for your 'Papa'! Oh wait! He's too busy flirt with other women to care!"

Maka rushed out of the teachers' lounge and down the hallway, wailing all the way.

"Maka! Wait!" Kami rushed after her daughter, but was unable to catch up to her by the time she reached the entrance due to the lack of workout every single becoming a housewife.

As Kami collapsed onto the ground to catch her breath, she reviewed over the chain of events.

This was not what she wanted... This was not providing Maka with a normal childhood...

_This was WAY much worse..._

---

The Kindergarden teachers never reported Maka coming back to class after that incident. Kami spent the rest of her day searching high and low for Maka, but her attempts were wasted in vain.

When she returned home, what she saw sadden her heart even more...

Maka was there, sitting at the front door in a scrunched-up position, head on her knees. From head to toe, the six-year-old girl was covered in bruises.

"MAKA!" Kami rushed forward to examine her precious child. "What happened?"

Maka's only responses were a string of unlinked words in between sobs, "*sob* Papa's women... *sob* Kicking... *sob* Non-stop... *sob* It hurts... *sob*..."

Kami felt tears welling up as she brought Maka closer towards her, and cried while holding her precious daughter tightly...

---

Kami carefully carried the little six-year-old into the house to bathe and treat her wounds. When she asked whether Maka wanted to eat, the response she received was a barely audible 'No'.

After tucking Maka into bed, Kami sat on the couch in the living room, contemplating on her next action to take...

_Maka can no longer suffer like this..._

It was after 3 hours of thinking through that a determined Kami went into the bathroom and began to write the seven familiar numbers on the mirror surface with the tip of her finger.

"Yo! _Wassup!_" The black figure with the cartoon mask greeted her. "Ah! Kami-chan! What can I do for you?"

Taking in a deep breath, the beige-haired woman looked straight into the mirror with determined emerald eyes. Eyes that she had not possessed for a long time.

"Shinigami-sama, I'll take your offer."

_I'm sorry, Maka._

---

Maka woke up at 10 the next morning...

_Eep! I'm late for school!_

As she leaped out of bed and rushed out of her room, Maka noticed the two letters placed on the living room table. One of them was addressed to Spirit, while the other was addressed to Maka. The one addressed to Maka was attached to a box, which was about the size of a small bag pack.

Curious, Maka walked up to the table and opened up the letter addressed to her.

Being a six-year-old, Maka barely understood the contents of the letter, but by the time she skipped to the last sentence, her blood was drained from her face.

There, at the bottom of the page, wrote: '_Goodbye Maka'._

* * *

Author's Notes:

Ghack! My brain cells are dying...

I know... the chapter is a bit weird... I can't help it! It's not everyday that you get picked on by some random group of drop-outs, and later get beaten up by your father's girfriends, only to find out that your mother _abandoned_ you the next day...

Yep! Definitely weird...

I sincerely apologise for the sudden cliche drama scenario...


	5. Chapter 5

_Goodbye__ Maka._

The only sentence the six-year-old girl understood.

The only sentence that caused her to panic.

The only sentence that she feared the most.

Maka tried to re-read the entire letter in attempt to find something else, something else that would tell her the reason why. But the profound words were not helping, causing the girl to panic even more.

She rushed to her parents' bedroom and swung the cupboard door open, hoping to reassure herself that the letter was a joke; that her mother was not leaving. To her dismay, Maka found some of her mother's clothes and a suitcase to be missing. When she searched the entire house for her mother, there wasn't a single soul in sight.

_Not even that perverted father of hers..._

Forgetting all about school, Maka dashed out of the apartment, onto the streets bare-footed, running through the massive crowds screaming "Mama". From the busy market place to the playground, to even the deepest, darkest corners of Death City, she couldn't find her beloved mother.

_Mama, please don't leave me..._

_Don't... Leave..._

---

Spirit opened the door of his apartment and dumped his jacket onto the couch.

"Man, I feel beat..."

The red-haired man went into the kitchen, expecting his usual dinner on the table, but instead was greeted with a very bare table.

"Dear," Spirit called through the house, "Where's my dinner?"

No response.

"Honey?"

Spirit exited the kitchen and went to look in the master bedroom.

Nothing...

Spirit called out again, "Okay, Kami, this isn't funny..."

He finally noticed the letter addressed to him on the table in the living room.

"Hmm...?" The red-haired man walked forward towards the letter and picked it up, "What's this?"

As he opened the letter, a small piece of metal fell out of the letter and onto the marble floor, creating a loud 'PING' sound. Bending down to examine it, Spirit's eyes grew wide with shock, unable to believe the sight before his eyes.

On the cold marble floor was Kami's wedding ring.

---

Spirit rushed right out of the house, all the time failing to notice the six-year-old girl sitting in the small dark corner of the living room, clutching onto her letter.

---

Maka was found three days after Kami's disappearance, at the exact same spot Spirit failed to notice the time he returned home, by her Kindergarden teacher. Maka was immediately sent to the intensive care unit, due to the girl's weakened body and depression state of mind.

"How is she?" the Kindergarden teacher asked the doctor exiting Maka's ward.

'Are you Miss Albarn's parent or guardian?"

"Neither. I'm her teacher."

"Is her parent or guardian here?"

"Her mother has disappeared and her father is... currently not available. I will serve as her temporary guardian for now."

"Very well. I will explain Miss Albarn's condition to you then, which I hope you will convey to her real parents or guardian."

"Fine."

"Miss Albarn is in a state of intense shock, which is probably causing her current depression state. Apart from that, there seems to be no permanent physical harm to her body. Except..."

"Except?"

"The basic equivalent concept: 'A healthy soul resides in a healthy body and mind' is being upset. In this case, the immense shock that Miss Albarn received is not healthy for her mind. Together with her current weakened state, it is causing her soul to become unstable. Therapy is required for her to resume normal functions."

"Will she recover?"

The doctor looked back to his report again, before responding.

"In most cases, a person will eventually recover after a long period of time with the help of therapy. However, in her case, a six-year-old girl soul is unable to undertake such high pressure. I am sad to say, that her soul is no longer stable enough to amplify another's, and might no longer be able to possess her weapon form. For her to ever be able to become a weapon again will be extremely difficult."

As the teacher looked into the ward at her little girl sleeping on the bed with sadness in her eyes, the doctor patted her on the shoulder.

"Please inform her parent or guardian as accordingly..."

* * *

Author's Notes:

By the time you read this note, my brain would have been dead a long time ago...

Despite this being the shortest chapter, this is one of the major table-turners in the story... _How ironic, eh?_

You wouldn't believe how long I spent trying to come up with the doctor diagnosis...

Next chapter! A new yet familiar person shows up! Stay tuned.


	6. Chapter 6

_5 ½ years__ before present time... (6 months after Kami's disappearance)_

Following to Kami Albarn's disappearance, Spirit was shocked for a while –but only for a few weeks- before going back to his 'hobby'. Maka was left in the hospital alone, without either parent by her side.

---

It was a peaceful afternoon at the hospital. The head doctor was sitting at his desk, organising some miscellaneous documents when one of the nurses burst into his office, patting.

"Doctor. Maka-chan is missing again!"

The head doctor sighed. "This is the third time this week. And it's only Tuesday..."

_Will she stop running EVERYTIME__ her father show up?_

The man stood up from his desk, while letting out a loud sigh. "Search the common places that we had usually found her with the usual staff group."

"We already did. She could not be found."

The head doctor rubbed his temples with his hand, thinking hard upon the situation. Just then, a young grey-haired man came into the room.

"Sorry to bother you, Sir, but I've finished my tasks that I had been instructed to do."

"Ah. Thank you. You may leave now."

As the young man was about to leave, the head doctor suddenly thought of something.

"Wait. I still have one more job for you."

The grey-haired man stopped in his tracks, and turned back to face his mentor.

"There is one patient that tends to run away every single time we look away. The patient's name is Maka Albarn-"

"Albarn?" the young man inquired.

"Yes. You know her?"

"Ah! No." The young man scratched the back of his head. "I just find the name familiar. Please continue, Sir."

"Although she is not physically injured, she is still in a slight state of depression. Thus her soul is currently not stable, and therefore should be staying in bed. However, she is right now missing again, so I need you to-"

"To find her by detecting her soul wavelength and bring her back." The young man adjusting his spectacles while making his comment.

"Yes." The head doctor replied as-a-matter-of-factly.

"I will do as instructed, Sir."

The grey-haired turned around and proceeded straight out of the room.

When the young man was no longer in sight, the nurse leaned forward towards the head doctor, and almost in a whisper, asked "Sir, who is he?"

"Oh. He's our new intern. Dr Franken Stein."

---

_Mama... Where are you?_

The young beige-haired girl wandered around the hospital compound. The corridors around this section were long and dark, but it didn't bother the little girl even the least.

_Mama... Come back to Maka..._

Maka walked on and on, down the dark corridor, not noticing the lessening number of people as she continued to wander, as though in a trance. Only one thing possessed her mind.

_Mama..._

"Found you."

Maka turned around slowly to the foreign noise, to see a young grey-haired man standing in the middle of the dark corridor. He was cloaked in a sweater and pants that looked as though they were ripped apart and stitched back together with thick black threads. Along his arms and legs were similar stitch marks.

"You're not Mama..."

"Well, obviously. I'm a guy."

Maka inspected the stranger from head to toe.

"What happened to you?" The little girl asked the stranger.

"I experimented on my arms and legs."

"Eww..."

"I would probably experiment on my brain next..."

"What..."

"Hey, do you think I should put the head of the screw on the left side of my head, or on the right side of my head?"

"What are you, Frankenstein?"

The young man stifled back a laugh. "As a matter of fact... Yes."

"You're crazy."

Maka quickly turned around and started to run.

"Wait!" Stein called out to the running girl. "You should be resting."

The beige-haired girl continued walking as though Stein's words were inaudible.

"I know your parents!"

Maka paused. Satisfied that he finally got a positive response, Stein spoke again, "Spirit Albarn and Kami Albarn, am I right?"

After some moment of thought, the beige-haired girl slowly turned around and walked back to the stranger. Although she still had doubts about this man, somehow after his bold declaration, Maka felt she could trust him.

"Tell me... Tell me what you know about my parents."

---

"Sir! Is it true that Maka-chan was found?"

The small group of nurses, who had the 'secondary duty' of searching for the troublesome little six-year-old girl, barged into the head doctor's office with worried looks on their faces.

"Ladies, calm down. Stein-kun found her along the corridor leading to the pharmaceutical storeroom."

The entire office screamed in joy.

"We should go check on her-"

"Maka is not in her ward." The head doctor suddenly exclaimed, "Leave her alone for awhile."

Puzzled stares were the only response from the group, as the head doctor proceeded to explain.

"Stein-kun is currently talking to her."

The puzzled stares were now becoming bewilderment. The office grew silent before one of the nurses spoke up.

"What is Stein-kun talking to Maka-chan about?"

The head doctor only shrugged.

"Even I have no idea. But Stein-kun just said to leave the issue to him."

* * *

Author's Notes:

Stein in this story has yet to have his obvious scar across his face and that prominent screw sticking out from his head yet. And since Maka in this part of the story is only 6+, I reckoned that Maka shouldn't be abe to recognise him when she get older (the original storyline).

Oh, and that 'Frankenstein' joke was cheesy...


	7. Chapter 7

Stein sneezed.

"What is it?" The six-year-old questioned him.

"Nothing..."

The two were currently in the hospital garden, sitting on the garden bench. From a passerby's view, they look like brother and sister enjoying the scenery. Nobody would suspect, even the slightest bit, how serious their conversation would be.

_How ironic this is..._

"So... Tell me what you know about my parents."

"What do you want to know about?"

Maka didn't expect such a response, and pondered quite a while on the question before asking again. "What is your relationship to my parents?"

"I'm Spirit-senpai's ex-meister." Stein answered immediately. The girl's eyes widen at the stranger's answer.

_Papa's __ex__-meister?_

"Well, that was, until Kami-senpai, your mother, took over that role."

When Maka didn't respond, Stein continued.

"At first, I hated your mother. For stealing away my weapon and my experiment…"

Before Maka could argue back to the grey-haired man's comment, Stein cut in.

"But, after looking at how Spirit-sempai looked so happy with his new meister, and after seeing how fast she was able to make an _idiot_ like him obtain the Death Scythe status, I couldn't help but admire her."

Maka noticed a soft smile appearing on the young man's face, which quickly disappeared as he continued.

"She was always the top scorer among the rest of her peers; she was always the courageous one who never gave up, despite the odds; she was always the hard-willed person who never let anyone get in her way…"

Stein stopped and looked towards Maka, who was looking down, as though she had the sudden interest at her feet. With the conversation suddenly on halt, the garden was –apart from the occasional chirping of the grasshoppers- quiet.

"Was I a burden to Mama?"

"Huh?" Stein leaned forward to look at the girl in the face. "Where did that come from?"

The girl reached into her hospital shirt pocket to take out a very worn out piece of paper. With the numerous number of creases, anyone could tell at first sight how often this particular piece of paper have been read. Maka unfolded the piece so gently, that people would have thought that it was made of papyrus, and passed to the grey-haired man.

The young man took the unfolded letter and read through its contents. By the time he reached the end of the letter, he was laughing in between _fits_.

"What's so funny?" Maka stared back at Stein, as though it was an insult.

The young man leaned back as wiped away the water in his eyes, the result of laughing too hard. After taking some time for his laughter to die down, Stein answered Maka.

"On the contrary, it is the opposite."

_The opposite?_

"I don't understand."

"How do I explain this?" The young man scratched his head wondering. "Kami-senpai left to get a job so that she would have a higher chance of getting the custody of her child, who happens to be you."

"Huh?" Stein swore to have seen imaginary question marks on top of the beige-haired girl's head. The young man adjusted his spectacles as he thought of another way to phrase his words for the six-year-old to understand.

_No wonder this girl was trying to look for her mother the entire time…_

"Simply put, she didn't want to see you suffer anymore and wanted the best for you, so she went to prepare a good home for you."

Stein expected the little girl to brighten up after his last sentence, but instead saw her face darken even more.

"I feel like telling Mama 'sorry' now…"

Stein almost fell off his seat.

_This girl…_

"I can't meet Mama's expectations now."

Now it was Stein's turn to be puzzled. "What do you mean?"

At the question, the little girl closed her eyes to focus on something, her hands clenched into fists. A normal person would just be puzzled about the beige-haired girl's actions, but for a person like Stein who could read souls, he could sense it very clearly.

The small soul residing in the six-year-old girl's body was trembling violently, as though it was about to be torn apart.

Maka was already baring her teeth, as her eyes squeezed shut.

_She was in pain._

Stein leaped off his seat and knelt in front of Maka, placing both of his hands on her shoulders, while he whispered softly to the now-tearing girl. "That's enough… I understand."

Still keeping her posture, Maka's face relaxed, but her tears continued to flow down her face.

"I can't change into a weapon… I can't become a Death Scythe like Mama wanted…"

Stein stood up and started to pace around the brick pathway of the hospital garden. After a while of pondering, the grey-haired man suddenly stopped pacing, standing directly in front of Maka.

"Then make one."

"What?" Maka looked up to face the grey-haired man. "Make one?"

Stein pushed up his spectacles as he explained, "If you can't be a Death Scythe, become a meister and make your partner a Death Scythe. Although the training to be a meister from a weapon is difficult, it is not impossible. Besides…" Stein suddenly paused, and Maka suddenly noticed that he was once again looking at the letter in his hands.

"At the bottom of the letter, the second last sentence, your mother wrote: 'I believe that there is nothing impossible for you to accomplish'…"

---

"Ah, Maka is back!"

The nurses that were waiting in Maka's ward literally jumped up when the six-year-old entered the room alone.

"Are you okay? We were so worried!"

Maka looked up towards the many worried nurses. Despite the many times she met them, this was the first time she actually looked at their faces.

"MAKA!!!!!"

A tear-covered Spirit, who seemed to have popped out from nowhere, cut through the group of nurses surrounding his six-year-old daughter and immediately flung himself on the girl. "WHERE WERE YOU!? PAPA WAS SOOOOOOO WORRIED!!!"

"Papa," The little girl stared at her father, who was hugging her so tight to the point that _he_ can't breathe, "Get off me."

"NOOOOOOOO!!!! IF I DO, MAKA WILL RUN AWAY AGAIN!!!!!!!!"

_I will no longer run away._

The beige-haired girl grabbed a clipboard from the nearest nurse and sent it straight into Spirit's cranium.

_I will no longer mope around._

"Maka?"

"I'm going to recover! And then I'm going to be the best meister in the world to make the best Death Scythe in the world!" exclaimed a determined Maka.

_I'm going to move forward._

Upon the little girl's comment, the nurses looked at each other, surprised yet happy for Maka's uplift in personality. Among all the joy and happiness, everyone seemed to forget the red-haired man in the corner of the room _dying_ from his concussion.

_I'm going to be the best… Mama…_

* * *

Author's Notes:

Yay! The mystery (or at least to me) of Maka's weapon blood is resolved, and the determined Maka that we all know and love is back!

I'm going to end up the story with the last chapter, since it is the number '8'. Kidd, be thankful that I didn't decide to make it '7' or '9'.

...

Okay, now I'm just talking to myself...

F.Y.I. The term 'Meister' was actually an Old High German term for 'Master'; Originating from the term Meistersinger: A member of one of the guilds organized in the principal cities of Germany in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries to establish competitive standards for the composition and performance of music and poetry (Correct me if I'm wrong).


	8. Chapter 8

_2 years before present time..._

Kami Albarn finally returned to Death City for her divorce court case.

**Dear Maka,**

Clothed in a neat business suit, she walked up the large pearl-coloured staircase leading up towards Death Court.

**After thinking for a very long time, I have come to the decision that this lifestyle is unsuitable for you, Maka, to grow up in.**

With her beige hair tied in a high bun and the long confident strides, no one would ever believe that this was a bashful domestic housewife four years ago.

**But then, as I do not have any possession, even if I were to get a divorce, I still would****not get the custody of you.**

The sound from her high heels hitting the floor with each step she took reverberated through the entire hall.

**In order to increase my chances, I have to leave to get a job.**

At the top of the stairs stood her ten-year-old daughter, clothed in a black trench coat with arms crossed, looking away from her father. Her ex-husband was at the other side, clinging onto one of the female jury members.

**I cannot confirm that you will understand the situation****now, nor will you wait for me, but for your future, I am willing to take that risk.**

Kami smiled towards her only daughter.

**I could only hope that you will wait for me, no matter how long I might take.**

Unfortunately, Kami Albarn lost the case. She was still unable to get the custody of her child.

The beige-haired woman sighed as she stood at the balcony outside Death Court. Reviewing the previous court hearing, she removed the bun in her hair as she leaned against the railing, looking towards the sky.

In the end, she still cannot provide a good home for her daughter.

"Mama."

Kami turned around at the familiar voice, to look at a young replica of herself, who possessed twin-pigtails at either side of her head and still wearing the black trench coat, smiling at her.

"Maka..."

Both mother and daughter stood at the balcony in silence, not wanting to make a sound as though a single sound would break their peace.

After what seemed an eternity, Maka was the one who first broke that silence.

"So Mama... How have you been?"

Kami remain in her position as she pondered on the question.

"Okay, I guess. A travelling-around-the-world job does have its benefits, especially since I get to look at many things that most people could not even see in their lifetime..."

"Oh." Maka lowered her head. "That must be nice."

Sensing her daughter's disappointment in her answer, Kami chuckled sadly, continuing, "Though I am always by myself, since I don't have a permanent place that I can call home. Maybe because of that reason, I still cannot be with my child."

**I will be travelling around the world, as that would be part of my job. So I cannot take you with me.**

Maka looked towards her mother, and saw a lone tear roll down her face from her emerald eyes.

**I don't know when I would return, and I have no assurance that you would still treat me as your mother even after I abandoned you.**

"Mama..."

**I only hope, that when I do, you will still remember this mother of yours.**

Maka wrapped her arms around her mother's neck, just as she did when she was young. She stroked her mother's head gently with one hand, while whispering softly in her ear the same comforting words four years ago:

"Don't cry, Mama. Maka is here."

**I could only hope that you would still call me 'Mama'****when we meet again.**

It was the first time in four years that Kami had shed tears for her daughter... But this was slightly different...

_These were tears of joy..._

"So what do you plan to do from now on, Mama?"

Kami turned her body so that her back was now resting against the railing. "I don't know. I guess I would just continue on with my current job to travel around the world."

"Then... When will you be back?"

"I don't know... Maybe weeks, months, even years... I cannot be certain. I will write to you though. Only, that is, if your father does not intercept the letters..."

"Oh, never mind him... I already _threw_ him out of the house a long time ago."An evil grin appeared on Maka's face.

Maka feel her mother's gaze on her, but when she turned to look, she discovered that her mother was actually looking at her black coat.

**In the box attached to this letter is a coat that I used to wear when I was still attending Shibusen. I intended to give it to you when you were older, but since I don't know when I will be back, I am giving it to you first.**

"It looks a bit big on you... Oh well, you will grow in time..." Kami began.

**I hope that one day I could get to see you in it.**

A smile shone from Kami's face, which Maka returned with one of her own.

"That coat still makes you look cool."

**That would make me more than happy.**

After an hour or so of chatting, Kami finally got up from her resting position and started walking away.

"So then, I'll be off!"

"Wait Ma-"

"MAKA!"

Spirit rushed in an attempt to hug his beloved daughter, but missed and almost fell off the edge of the balcony.

"Maka! Please let me come back! I promise to stop going out so late!"

"Which you always do anyway no matter how many times you promise..." Maka countered nonchalantly as she looked in another direction, obviously bored.

"Maka, Please-"

"I wonder is it because I am invisible, or is it that I am not worth noticing?"

Spirit froze as he slowly turned towards his now ex-wife, before leaping towards his new source of attention. Unfortunately, he missed (again) and was now clinging onto the edge of the balcony by the railing.

"Kami! Please come back! I promise to stop flirting with other women!"

"Which you always do anyway no matter how many times you promise..." Kami countered with the exact same words and expression that Maka had used 10 seconds ago.

Spirit reached out to grab the woman's arm. "Kami... I-"

"MAKA-CHOP!"

A thick large textbook landed straight into Spirit's cranium, instantly knocking him into coma as his body went slack. If not for Maka's sudden generosity to grab him and hang him on the railing, Spirit would have fell down and become flatten from the impact of hitting the ground.

"So you're a Meister now?"

Maka wanted to ask her mother how she knew that information, but quickly knew the answer to her own question when she noticed her mother looking at her textbook that she had previously used to hit her father.

On the textbook front was the gold printed words 'Meister Syllabus: Volume VII'.

The ten-year-old wanted to explain to her mother, wanted to apologise, but her mother was already walking away, her back towards her.

"Although I am honestly quite surprised, I respect your decision."

**More than anything do I wish for my daughter to find her own route, her own goal in life.**

"I wish you the best..."

**I believe that there is nothing impossible for you to accomplish.**

"Well then…"

**Goodbye Maka.**

_Present time..._

"Maka, are you still awake?"

Soul walked out off his bedroom towards the living room as he stifled a yawn. On the couch was his partner, looking at her mother's latest letter.

"What? Still reading? It's already 1am! We have an important mission tomorrow."

"I will turn in after I finish reading." Maka turned to reply her partner, giving him a soft smile.

"Alright..." Soul stretched as he began his walk back to his bedroom. "Don't stay up too late."

Maka continued to read finish the rest of the letter. By the time she reached the end of the letter, she found herself yawning and her vision blurring as her eyes demanded to close. Reluctantly, she forced herself off the comfort of the couch and proceeded back to her room. Not even bothering to get under her blanket, the beige-haired girl dumped herself on her bed, her eyes fast closing...

Just before going into dreamland, she turned her sleepy head to face the starry sky.

_Wait for me, Mama. I will make the best Death Scythe and catch up to you._

_I will make you turn around and look at me..._

-End-

* * *

Author's Notes:

Whee~ Finally finished! Surprisingly, this is still not as long as the first chapter.

For those who were not sure, the words in bold were the contents of the letter that Kami wrote to Maka. I didn't bother writing up the one Kami left for Spirit since... Well... The only thing that comes to my mind is "I had enough! Take your stupid ring and get another wife."

To tell you the truth, I typed up all eight chapters all in one shot in a single document within 5 days (God, I need sleep)... But then I realised that I had to seperate them by chapters, so in the end I spent another one and a half hours doing just that...

School is reopening very soon, so I doubt I would submit another story/chapter until my vacation.

Please review and give me constructive comments... I'll be needing it!


End file.
